Some businesses are concerned that conducting a business cost reduction analysis might damage their relationships with existing suppliers. I too value loyalty in mutually beneficial long-term business relationships and have found that it is indeed possible to cut costs while strengthening relationships with trusted suppliers.

While eliminating errors and overcharges is an obvious and common sense approach to business cost reduction, it is also tedious and time-consuming labor. For most business owners with a crushing workload, scrutinizing every line item on several months’ worth of vendor bills is about as appealing as undergoing a root canal minus the Novocain. However, that’s exactly what I like to do (the analysis, not the root canal).

We all have trash. Taking out that trash isn’t anyone’s favorite task, but it’s necessary. Once the garbage is carted off, you probably don’t give it another thought. But maybe you should think about it.

Although behavior modification is an important and viable business cost reduction strategy, it is often overlooked, just as a hidden gem might be. By mining through data to find how goods and services are used, a knowledgeable expense reduction analyst can identify significant cost savings without requiring a change in provider.